Archive for the ‘Ford Torino Talladega’ tag

George Poteet’s award-winning GPT Special Torino. Images courtesy of Goodguys.

It’s been a good year for George Poteet and his Troy Trepanier-built 1969 Ford Torino Talladega, the “GPT Special.” In July, the impeccably prepared pro-tourer took top honors as the 2013 Optima Batteries Street Machine of the Year at the Goodguys PPG Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, and last weekend the slammed Ford beat out five finalists to win the inaugural Barrett-Jackson Cup (and the $20,000 check that comes with it) at Reno’s Hot August Nights.

Accepting the award for Poteet was Jack Trepanier, general manager of Rad Rides by Troy, the shop that crafted the award-winning Ford. Beginning with a 1969 Ford Torino Talladega (an aerodynamically enhanced Torino, built by Ford to counter the threat of the Dodge Daytona in NASCAR competition), Trepanier’s shop widened the car by five inches, shortened the front fenders by three inches and removed an inch from the wheelbase. Rad Rides scratch-built any of the exterior components, such as the rear quarter panels, grille and trim parts, and painted the finished body in a color called “Tennessee Whiskey Gold.”

Underneath, the Torino rides on an Art Morrison chassis that uses a C5 Corvette front suspension and a Detroit Speed four-link rear setup. The Billet Specialties wheels, meant to resemble those used on the Le Mans-winning Ford GT40, feature details like safety-wired knock-offs and a two-tone spun aluminum and matte brown finish. Power comes from a fuel-injected Ford Boss 429 V-8, said to be good for some 750 horsepower; like the rest of the car, the engine bay itself is a work of art, with most components sprayed in a muted bronze to offset the car’s finish. If it’s attention to detail you’re after, look no further than the car’s velocity stacks; not only are they topped with polished screens, but each screen is oriented in precisely the same manner as its neighbor.

Inside, the GTP Special is meant to resemble a period-correct Holman-Moody NASCAR racer, and even the gauges proudly wear Holman-Moody logos. Though clearly purpose-built, omitting luxuries like carpeting and sound deadening, there’s a stark beauty to the Torino’s cabin. From the exposed (and polished) rivets on the floor pan, to the grommet-ventilated leather seats (another homage to the Ford GT40), to the friction-tape-wrapped steering wheel, everything about the cabin indicates that the car was built to be driven, and driven hard.

In addition to the check for $20,000 and the oversize wood and cut-glass trophy, Poteet also collected a 430hp Chevrolet LS3 V-8 (donated by Chevrolet Performance) as part of his Barrett-Jackson Cup booty. Ironically, the car that the GTP Special edged out to win at Hot August Nights, Ron Cizek’s Ridler Award-winning 1940 Ford Coupe known as “Checkered Past,” also took a major Goodguys award (Street Rod of the Year) alongside the Torino at the show in Columbus, Ohio.

As for Poteet’s plans for the GTP Special, he told Goodguys that he planned to campaign the car at Bonneville this year, in the street-legal, 150 MPH class. The Southern California Timing Association’s Speed Weeks began on Saturday, August 10, and stretch through Saturday, August 16, meaning that the GTP Special may have gone directly from Reno to Bonneville. As good as the car looks in these Goodguys-supplied images, it would look even better with a crust of Bonneville salt adorning its tires and fenders.

Up until the pilot models rolled off the Atlanta factory’s production line, Ford intended the ram air R-code version of its Cobra Jet 428-cu.in. V-8 to power the Torino Talladega. Yet, at the last minute – presumably to keep down costs and to keep a clean aerodynamic profile to the car – Ford changed its mind, brought back all the ram air pilot models, converted them to regular 335hp Q-code Cobra Jets, and sold the Talladega as such. Yet one prototype Talladega continues to wear its scooped hood and will sell next month at Barrett-Jackson’s annual event in Scottsdale.

In August 1968, well before Talladega production began in January 1969, Ford ordered two Torino GTs – a Wimbledon White Q-code and a Candy Apple Red R-code – diverted from its Lorain, Ohio, assembly plant and back to Dearborn, where Ford’s Administrative Services performed the necessary sheetmetal work to convert them into Talladegas. Aside from the ram air hoodscoop, the R-code Torino featured a number of options that were never seen on production Talladegas, including air conditioning, a Rimblow steering wheel, chrome wheels, a tachometer and AM/FM radio. Ford trotted it out as a press car, but then in 1970, after Talladega production started, the company then loaned both the Q-code and the R-code Talladega prototypes to NASCAR legend Banjo Matthews, who bought both cars from Ford a year later.

Matthews, busy building race cars, apparently had no time to mess with the Talladegas, so apart from a brief period when he lent the R-code to his sister-in-law – during which she sideswiped a guardrail – the R-code Talladega remained behind his shop in Arden, North Carolina, until after his death in 1996, when Matthews’s son bought it from the estate sale, keeping it until 2009, when he sold it to current owner Jason Thompson. Thompson, who also owns the white Q-code prototype, then restored the R-code last year and has since showed it at the Concours d’Elegance of America at St. John’s, at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals, and at Fords at Carlisle.

Thompson said he will be selling the prototype at no reserve, but with production Talladegas topping out at about $75,000, he said he figures that the prototype “should bring Boss 429 money.” According to Thompson, only one other R-code Talladega exists in the Talladega-Spoiler Registry, a car that began life as a regular Torino, but then converted into a Talladega for Ralph Moody’s personal use.

Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction takes place January 15-22. For more information, visit Barrett-Jackson.com.

While we have men in the air headed to Scottsdale this very moment, Ron Harnish has been there snapping away at the Scottsdale Pavilion cruise-in, a huge destination for the gearheads who descend on the city but don’t care for the auction madness. And, as with the Holt Screamin’ Eagle, plenty of unusual stuff shows up at the Pavilion, including this re-creation of the Mustang Mach III concept car, which builder David Haymond calls the Concept 3, and which was shown at SEMA last year.

A custom SN95-era Mustang shows off a giant fresh air duct in the hood.

Next up, Ron wasn’t able to identify this 911-based racer, but he said it was a genuine purpose-built race car driven into the cruise off the streets of Scottsdale.